Dedicated  To  The Butterfly

I was maybe 7 years old. My brother Rob was around 8 or 9 I guess. We were outside playing in front of our house in suburban Berkley, MI. I remember it was a regular summer afternoon, we were hanging out in the yard or whatever when my brother Rob screamed 'Joe I caught a giant butterfly! Hurry up and get the jar!' I grabbed the jar off the steps and ran over to him. Somehow, some way, he had actually managed to catch one of them big ass, pretty, orange, yellow and black butterflies right out of the air with his bare hands. Unbelievable. If you remember anything about being a kid, you remember them things are un-catchable. They'll   fu(kin' sit there and dance, slow motion, in the air style, right around your fu(kin' face while you bust your ass trying to catch it. Somehow, on this regular summer afternoon, Rob happened to scoop it right out of flight with his bare hands. 'Hurry, get the jar opened up and ready, I can feel its wings trying to get away!'

Finally we had it safely and sound in the jar with the fresh poked holes in the lid and everything. We knew that we'd better let it go soon though. We looked at this creature as an animal more than an insect. Plus being that age, this animal was more than just a bug to us. It was our homie. We decided we would just have it spend one night with us and we'd let it go in the morning. Plus we figured a whole family of giant butterflies might even come looking for it if we didn't. I mean this butterfly was so big, and colorful in that jar. It even looked like it had fur on it. It was absolutely awesome.

That night, as usual it was hot as hell in our bed room, so we took the fan and pointed it right into the holes of the butterfly's jar. We didn't think much of it at the time other than hopefully the butterfly will be comfortable while he's spending this night with us.

The following morning, much, much, to our sadness, the Butterfly was dead. Our guess was it had to be the fan blowing on it all night. We didn't mean to harm this beautiful, giant Butterfly at all. We were painfully crushed.

We had a funeral right there in our backyard for it that morning. We buried it in this lil' empty box on top of some napkins and stuff. As we were paying our last respects to this butterfly, both me and my brother Rob made a vow - right then and there we made this vow: "One day, we will both make it to Heaven and apologize to the Butterfly, face to face."

We made that vow when we were just two lil' young-ass kids, but what better time than then? That was us at our cleanest and purest form. We were so loving, only because were were still so untouched and unscatched by the real world. That yard was the only world we knew back then. We didn't know any real negatives, or realties even, because they are kept from most young children. We were at our cleanest points that morning. Ready for the world with our first vow and goal to complete in life.

We didn't know the differences between white, black or Asian people, boys or girls, east sidaz or west sidaz, Jewish or Muslim people. None of that $hit mattered to us then, and it still shouldn't. We just looked for smiling faces back then, and we still should.

Look at us all now. It was the world around us that instilled all the hatred and wacky beliefs upon us all. We become one with the world as we walked through it. Once we live some life, our souls ain't as clean anymore. We all got a lil' bit older, we didn't care as much anymore about butterflies or what colors their wings had. We learned who we are supposed to hate, who we should love and even flat out how we should be as people. All of which is taught to us by other people! And who the             fu(k are they? We spend our entire lives trying not to do what ever is considered "stale" by everybody else. Well fu(k that! Consider us stale as fu(k then. We some four-week-old, desert-dried-Wonder-Bread, stale-ass individuals then.

We will one day complete our vows before we pass. I want to be as clean as I was when I was 7. I want my own heart telling me what to do and how to live. We will rid our souls of this garbage that was pounded into it, and once again respect the beauty of some fresh ass $hit like a Butterfly's wings. One day, we will get to Heaven and apologize to the Butterfly, just like we said we would.  

We're going to Shangri-La, baby. Sorry if that upsets you... wait, no we ain't! Fuck off if that upsets you. The bottom line is we want nothing more out of the rest of our lives but to see you Juggalos there in Shangri-La with us.

Joe Bruce A.K.A Violent J